Equine-Assisted Services Research Report

11/18/2025

Great news from Colorado State University Equine Science, where undergrad Cristal Morales Chavez has been involved with the ongoing EAS research at the Temple Grandin Equine Center . Her project? The effects of equine-assisted services on the horses involved. Read much more:

A first-time research project at the Temple Grandin Equine Center at CSU Spur examines the effects of equine-assisted services on the horses involved.

10/24/2025

The shutdown of the federal government affects us all, sooner or later. One of the most-used tools treasured by researchers and anyone looking for references and sources is "PubMed", the online searchable database of journal articles maintained by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Library of Medicine.

I use PubMed every day but only just noticed the message to users posted at the top of PubMed home page: "Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted."

Don't worry, EASR is sourced from more than 60 different databases and search engines, so it will be fine -- including the new issue going out to subscribers tomorrow, but I do wonder about the government employees working on the project, and the future of this great service to the researchers of the world.

Long live PubMed! We're thinking of you!

08/26/2025

BBC News World Service took their audience for a ride on Monday, August 25, 2025, via a globally broadcast interview with two international authorities on the topic of “Healing with Horses”.
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BBC World Service hosted the Czech Republic's Vera Lantelme-Faisan, president of HETI - Horses in Education and Therapy International Federation, and the UK's Claudia Nicholson, of The Downmere Farm Equine Assisted Learning Centre, located in England's spectacular South Downs National Park.
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BBC host Datshiane Navanayagam engaged the two women in a quickly-moving discussion of the impact that horses had had on their personal lives, and then on to working in mental health and 3-D movement of the horse in a number of examples of the way that horses act as the key elements in the growing appeal and availability of EAS.
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They covered a lot, but the entire 27-minute broadcast was upbeat, inviting, and hopefully inspiring to the no-doubt millions of listeners, since it was broadcast three different times during the day on Monday and continues to be click-and-play on the BBC website.
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The BBC has made a one-year link available; you can listen to it, share it, and even download it. Listen now at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct7092
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08/20/2025

Ears up! Here comes the latest from the science side of equine assisted services! A new issue of the research report will be going out to subscribers on Thursday so everyone can spend some time exploring 91 new peer-reviewed articles on all aspects of EAS from diagnosis-based studies to EAS horse care, behavior, and welfare, and on to EAS professional and educational studies.

Also in the mix: articles on equine assisted learning, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and equine assisted psychotherapy and counseling.

The biggest topic? Yes, it was autism once again, but there was a surge from the #2 topic: the welfare and wellbeing of EAS horses.

I’ll post more information once it is out, but right now, it’s back to the last rounds of proofreading and double checking every aspect.

I hope you like the cover. “Zen Horse” is a dry clay technique sculpture by artist Susie Benes of Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. She’s one of my favorite artists and I’m honored to have one of her pieces on the cover. I love the gesture of the horse, and the glazed caparison-type blanket. I’ve felt like he was “assisting” me these past few weeks as another issue goes out into the world. Onward!

PS New subscribers are always welcome, just visit equineassistedresearch.com for more information or send an email to equineassistedresearch (at) gmail (dot) com. I’ll get right back to you!

08/15/2025

When I heard that today was the 75th birthday of Great Britain's Princess Anne, I knew I had to share this clever quote from her that I heard at the very end of the 2025 National Equine Forum in London this spring.

Princess Anne is no stranger to zingy and often humorous quotes, just as she is no stranger to the horse world.

While much is often made of Princess Anne's legacy as an Olympic competitor in eventing, her resume in the horse world would take pages to write. I also believe it would be unequalled in the world or in history.

Consider this: She is patron or president of more than 300 organizations. Many of them are related to horses and veterinary medicine.

Her involvement has included patronage roles with groups like the British Equine Veterinary Association, The Donkey Sanctuary, The Pony Club, the Royal Veterinary College, Edinburgh University's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, the Worshipful Company of Farriers (of which she was Master), and the British Horse Society. She is also past president of the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) and the British Olympic Association. She is the current president of the National Equine Forum and World Horse Welfare . I'm sure I've missed some!

But most significantly, the field of equine assisted services was in its infancy in 1971, when Princess Anne first became the royal patron of Great Britain's pioneering Riding for the Disabled (RDA); she added the role of its President in 1985, a title she has held for 40 years -- and still holds.

Beyond horses, following Princess Anne taught me a new word: Pharologist. I am one, and so is she, apparently. Pharology is the study of of interest in lighthouses.

No doubt Princess Anne will celebrate her birthday privately, but her 40 years as RDA president is also a wonderful run, and her quip about EAS being "quirky and eccentric" in a good way, is priceless. Thank you!

07/29/2025

On July 29, 1952, two major milestones in equestrian history were achieved. And we’re still applauding.

The 1952 Olympics, held in Helsinki, Finland, were the first to allow women to compete against men.

Lis Hartel had been the Danish national dressage champion ten years earlier, but in 1944 contracted polio, which left her paralyzed below the knees and also affected her arms and hands.

Europe’s equestrian world was shocked when Lis Hartel returned to competition, even though she needed help to get into the saddle.

At Helsinki in 1952, it was news in itself when a woman won the silver individual medal in dressage, but Lis Hartel's refusal to allow her disability to stop her has become a story for the ages.

Lis Hartel returned to the Olympics in 1956 to again win the silver individual medal in dressage. She was Danish dressage champion in 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, and 1959.

After retiring from competition, Lis Hartel campaigned for polio funding, and publicized the benefits of what we now call “therapeutic riding”.

Most significant of all is the confidence that Lis Hartel’s story instilled in a budding intersection of sport, therapy, and equestrianism now known as para equestrian sport, which grew to become a cornerstone of the Paralympics movement.

EASR suggests this article about Lis Hartel for those who'd like to learn more about her.

Hedenborg, S., 2019. Lis Hartel–an extraordinary equestrian. In Extraordinary Sportswomen (pp. 36-52). Routledge. The author provides a free link to the full text at this link:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susanna-Hedenborg-2/publication/301539763_Lis_Hartel_-_an_extraordinary_equestrian/links/60e6fc6c0fbf460db8f229ee/Lis-Hartel-an-extraordinary-equestrian.pdf

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About EASR:

Through the Equine Assisted Services Research Report , I connect professionals, educators, students, and funding administrators with direct access to new EAS research from peer-reviewed journals.

EASR makes it easy for subscribers to stay current, and read research relevant to their work so they can concentrate on growing their businesses or achieving academic goals.

EASR is read all over the world, by all levels of professionals and scholars. I am honored to work with each and every one of them, and invite you to join us.

--Fran Jurga, editor
Equine Assisted Services Research Report

07/17/2025

An iconic, pioneering charity. An innovative powerhouse of an equine-focused university. Read about how the global EAS ecosystem may benefit as two leading entities, Hartpury University and Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), launch their research collaboration.
https://equineassistedresearch.com/news/f/rda-uk-hartpury-univ-forge-equine-assisted-research-partnership

06/30/2025

The Equine-Assisted Services Research Report has carefully tabulated statistics on categories and specific topics of research over the past seven years. EASR divides research categories into three types: 1) diagnosis-specific; 2) EA learning and education; and 3) therapies incorporating equines (psychotherapy, occupational therapy, etc.). Other sections cover overarching themes of horse-human interaction; therapeutic riding; behavior, management, and welfare of EAS horses; EAS facility and organizational matters; and adjunct topics like para equestrian sport, veterinary social work, education/regulation of professionals, etc.

Since 2017, EASR has described and linked to almost 2,000 individual peer-reviewed EAS research articles in journals from all over the world. Each year, the volume of research has increased, bringing in more nations, more universities, and more peer-reviewed journals.

EAS research is happening -- and EASR is so proud to document it all for you!

05/31/2025

Don't worry, robots won't replace horses in EAS anytime soon (if ever!), but what do you think is the key characteristic that researchers believe should be programmed into robots designed for EAI-type interaction?

https://equineassistedresearch.com/f/research-could-therapeutic-robots-mirror-horse-human-interaction

05/30/2025

You don't even have to pack EASR, it's already on your phone, your tablet, and/or your laptop. Check in on research, even if you are thousands of miles from your home, office, or classroom! We make following research *very* easy to do! Happy trails, summer travelers!

05/11/2025

(Just for the fun of it...) Happy Mother's Day! to all mothers, but especially to my tribe who are tech-savvy, library-loving moms. Thanks for your interest in and support of equine assisted research. (And thanks to Mike Licht, as always, for his creative photoshopping.) (Original image, of course, is "Whistler's Mother", by James McNeill Whistler, now hanging in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris; the original (without the laptop and the pony on the wall) is one of the most famous paintings in the world by an American artist)

05/08/2025

No white smoke from our chimney, just the news that a new issue of the Equine Assisted Services Research Report is on its way to subscribers' in-boxes. They'll be sifting through 100 new listings and descriptions of research articles from peer-reviewed journals, as well as new academic theses. Watch for the EASR email newsletter with lots of research news, and more on what's in the issue, who's doing the research, and how it is all moving the field of EAS forward.

Click here to subscribe to the directory (4 editions per year): https://equineassistedresearch.com/subscribe

And while you are there, make sure you are on the list to receive our email newsletter on EAS Research. It is free to all. Or, click here to get on the list: https://mailchi.mp/8d173907de12/eas-researchhttps://mailchi.mp/8d173907de12/eas-research